DEVELOPER: Heavy Iron Studios

PUBLISHER: THQ

SYSTEM: Nintendo Wii

PRICE: $49.99

ESRB RATING: Everyone

REVIEW RATING: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)

Trash. At least one form of litter tarnishes nearly every street corner of every city in America, and garbage dumps nationwide are overflowing. Disney/Pixar's latest animated movie, Wall-E, presents one possible bleak future for our beautiful blue planet. One where the entire world has been turned into a gigantic waste dump, and it's inhabitants have fled to the stars.

Based on the movie of the same name, "Wall-E" drops players into the role of the lovable bucket of bolts, Wall-E, and his technologically advanced floating friend, Eve. The first levels introduce players to various platform elements (as Wall-E) while simultaneously revealing the desolate wasteland that surrounds the rusty protagonist. Subsequent levels let players control Eve, while others require both to be guided at the same time.

When rolling over the landscape as Wall-E, players can compact trash into different types of cubes that are used to help him advance to the next area. Some targets need to be hit like a bull's-eye while others have a container that cubes must be tossed into, basketball-style. It's too bad that most of the main character's game-play boils down to rolling, jumping, and tossing ...Yawn.

Fortunately, Eve is much more fun to control because she can fly around and fire her trusty laser at anything in her path. Wall-E constantly bumps into everything because the analog stick is too sensitive, but flying around as Eve is ... smooth sailing. Still, she is very limited in her abilities, and the levels she inhabits are very simplistic.

In the end, "Wall-E" is a mediocre game that does the bare minimum to mimic its source material. Only the tiniest of gamers will play this title through to the end.

'Guitar Hero: On Tour' Hits Many of the Same Notes

DEVELOPER: Vicarious Visions

PUBLISHER: Activision

SYSTEM: Nintendo DS

PRICE: $49.99 (includes peripheral)

ESRB RATING: Everyone

REVIEW RATING: 3.0 (out of 5 stars)

When "Guitar Hero" was released for the PlayStation 2, the developers had no idea that its popularity would propel the series to - err — rock star status. As a result, it's now respectable to play air guitar at home, but what is one to do if they want to jam in public? Never fear oh mighty rock fans, for you can now partake of the same faux rock star experience (sort of) anywhere while playing "Guitar Hero: On Tour."

Gone are the plastic guitar controllers that the series is known for. In their place is a palm-shaped peripheral that slips into the GBA slot on the bottom of any DS Lite. Four colored note buttons line the edge, and the entire unit must be held sideways (like a book) during play. Notes stream down the regular screen, and the player must hold down the appropriate note button/buttons with one hand while using the included guitar pick stylus to strum on the touch screen with the other.

Using this setup is awkward at first, and doesn't get much better with practice. For starters, the peripheral cramps the hand into a strange position, which forces the note button fingers to rub together. This makes it difficult to press notes quickly and consecutively. In addition, the touch screen doesn't always register strumming motions, which results in missed notes, ruined combos, and quite possibly, broken DS units.

Twenty-six songs are available to play on four difficulty levels that are sure to challenge you till your fingers hurt, literally. Both old school and recent hits are included, which should satisfy most music lovers. However, I'm very disappointed by the low quality of the musical recordings. Shouldn't a music game strive for the best audio possible?

"Guitar Hero: On Tour" sports most of the features of it's console brethren and can be fun to play, but most fans of the series will prefer strumming their plastic guitars.

REVIEW SCORING SYSTEM

5 stars = Must Have

4 stars = Pretty Good

3 stars = Above Average

2 stars = Bargain Bin

1 star = Don't Bother

To find out more about Jeb Haught and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.